STUART, FL — A 19-year veteran of the Florida Highway Patrol was shot and killed Wednesday after he stopped to assist a disabled vehicle along the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Martin County, about 40 miles north of West Palm Beach.
The trooper was identified as Trooper Joseph Bullock. A passing Riviera Beach police officer who witnessed the shooting shot and killed the gunman, according to Col. Gene Spaulding, director of the agency.
“This morning at approximately 10:15 a.m. Trooper Bullock was assisting a disabled vehicle on I-95 northbound near mile marker 107, just south of Martin Highway, when the suspect who was with the disabled vehicle shot him, resulting in fatal injuries to Trooper Bullock,” Spaulding told reporters at a 5 p.m. news conference.
Officials did not yet disclose a possible motive for the shooting. The investigation is being conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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Spaulding said the 42-year-old trooper had trained and mentored a number of new troopers as a field training officer. He graduated from the FHP recruit class of August 2001 and was a U.S. Air Force veteran.
Bullock is survived by his parents and two sisters.
“It is truly a tragedy, and it will take a long time for the Florida Highway Patrol to heal,” Spaulding said.
“Joe was one of the troopers that went out every day, did his job, quietly, professionally and with the utmost dedication,” Spaulding said.
Spaulding said it is not unusual for troopers to help motorists. “It’s what our troopers do,” he said. “You have to balance that fine line between rendering assistance yet protecting yourself and the community. It’s one of the hardest jobs out there, and that’s why it’s so tragic that we did lose a brother that was out trying to do his job to protect the citizens of this great state.”